WASHINGTON — Michele Bachmann paid off most of her presidential campaign's remaining debt in the closing months of her House re-election run.
Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 28, Bachmann transferred more than $750,000 from her congressional campaign coffers to pay down her presidential campaign debt, according to new campaign finance filings. Bachmann's presidential campaign was more than $1 million in debt after she dropped out of the race in January. She was $170,000 in debt at the end of November, and she has $2.1 million in the bank.
In sum, Bachmann raised nearly $15 million for her congressional campaign. Her opponent, Jim Graves, raised just more than $2 million (excluding personal loans), though Bachmann defeated him by only 1.2 percent on Nov. 6.
Over the last two months, Bachmann spent more money than any other Minnesota congressional candidate raised over the entire campaign: $4 million, including the transfers to her presidential account.
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.